


The Light the Dead See

by amethyst-noir (Arbonne)



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo Collection [14]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Banter, Butterflies, First Kiss, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Protective Tony Stark, Serious Injuries, Stephen gets hit by dubious magic once again, Suicidal Thoughts, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-12-24 18:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21103760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbonne/pseuds/amethyst-noir
Summary: His hands encountered an invisible barrier just before he could touch Stephen. "No touching I fear," Stephen whispered. "It's too late for that." Only now Tony realized that there was no blood and Stephen was damn lucid for someone who must be in an incredible amount of pain.(Stephen tries to sacrifice himself once again. Tony is ready and willing to even brave dark magic and a different dimension to try to get him back.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm here to give you a dose of the usual: A seriously hurt and pragmatic Stephen, a caring Tony who is determined to save him, lots of talking and cuddling. With added Cloak. Same ingredients, different dish. I hope you enjoy this installment of the hurt! and vulnerable!Stephen. Since this is also this year's halloween story it gets a little bit spooky. But nothing too bad (hahah!) and they'll get a happy, fluffy ending. Promise. 
> 
> @badthingshappenbingo square: _Pinned Down by Wreckage_
> 
> All my thanks go to [Foxglove_Fiction](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxglove_Fiction/pseuds/Foxglove_Fiction) who did me the immense favor of editing this thing in record time. Thank you so much! ❤️

"Doctor Strange! Wait! Don't go!"

Peter's desperate cry was like a shot of adrenaline directly into Tony's heart. "Strange?" No answer. "Peter?"

He was already on the move to Peter's last location when Spider-Man swung by and landed directly in front of him. Even through the mask, Tony could see his terror. "Doctor Strange! He's…" Peter broke off and gesticulated towards the big warehouse.

The warehouse that was _ swimming _ with dark energy strong enough to almost short out FRIDAY's sensors.

"Don't tell me he's in there."

Silence. Which meant…

"Fuck. Stay here, Pete, I'll go after him."

"Mr. Stark. Tony, this thing makes my senses hurt. Don't go in there."

And leave Stephen alone with whatever it was that threatened his nice Sunday lunch with Pepper and Rhodey? Never.

"Take care of things out there, I'll sort everything out in there and bring the wizard back."

"Tony…"

"Stay, Peter. Keep the others away. My orders. And web them up if they don't want to listen. Bad enough if two of us are in there." He looked at the seething mass of _ something _ and swallowed. _ Stephen is in there _ , he reminded himself. _ Doing God knows what crazy shit. Go in and help him. _

God, Tony fucking hated magic; Stephen and his cape being the one exception he could not tolerate but actually lo… like. The seething black something, that had more or less eaten the whole warehouse complex by now, made him want to throw up and run away - or maybe throw up while running away. He wanted Peter away from that thing. Hell, he wanted to be on the other side of the Earth from it, himself. But Stephen was in there, all alone, and even with all his experience as a Doctor of the Mystic Whatever he shouldn't be, Tony knew, _ felt _ that deep down in his bones.

"Strange!" he called as soon as he set foot inside the building. "Stephen? Stop playing stupid and let's go. This place is beyond saving and it's giving me the creeps. Where the hell are you?"

"Tony?" Stephen's voice was too far away, considering the size of the building. Tony's unease reached new, exciting and terrifying highs. "Go away!" He didn't sound right, even considering the distance and freaky magic thing.

"Are you okay?" Tony called back, already moving towards the direction of Stephen's voice. "You don't sound…" He broke off when he passed yet another wave of the black something that floated through the air in irregular intervals and finally found Stephen, floating in a cloud of black goo and being _ impaled _ by it. "Fuck."

A bitter chuckle was Stephen's answer to that. "Yeah, that about sums it up. You should go now, Tony."

"And leave you like this?" Tony shook his head, still trying to wrap his mind around the image in front of him. "Not gonna happen and you know it." _ The Cloak is missing _, he realized and his unease grew even further.

"You won't get me out." Stephen still sounded far too calm, considering his circumstances and his missing companion. "Believe me, I've tried for the past few hours and the only thing I achieved was this." He gestured to the black wave thingy that had penetrated him from the back and came out just under his ribcage with his left hand. His right arm was also impaled and held immobile by the cloud, Tony only now saw. He was so horrified that it took him a moment to register Stephen's words.

"You only just came in here!" he protested. "Just a few minutes ago. Peter told me that…"

"Time moves differently here, Tony." Stephen spoke gently as if not to spook him. "You crossed over into another dimension the moment you set foot into the warehouse. Things are insane here and don't make any sense." He tried to take a deep breath but started coughing instead. Tony was at his side in a heartbeat, trying to hold on to him and help him calm down.

His hands encountered an invisible barrier just before he could touch Stephen. "No touching I fear," Stephen whispered. "It's too late for that." Only now Tony realized that there was no blood and Stephen was damn lucid for someone who must be in an incredible amount of pain. "The…" some word Tony couldn't even _ begin _ to decipher, "the black fog," Stephen clarified at his confused expression, "is using my magic to sustain itself and spread out further." He closed his eyes and groaned in pain as yet another tendril wound itself around his throat. Tony tried to reach out and tear it away but once again met the invisible barrier. "It was a trap to capture me and I didn't see it," he confessed after it became clear that the tendril had no intention of strangling him. He sounded almost normal, even with the thing getting tighter and tighter. "The whole attack. I'm sorry. Please, just go away and keep Peter and the others away from here. Get Wong and the other Masters here. They can destroy it with their combined forces."

This was wrong. All of it. But most of all Stephen's reactions. Or non-reactions.

"Stephen?" he asked, suddenly terribly afraid. "What happened to you?" Nothing made sense, no, least of all Stephen's almost otherworldly calm that made Tony afraid like nothing else.

A bitter smile and a long pause. Stephen closed his eyes as if to gather strength and he couldn't look at Tony when he finally answered. "I died, Tony. A few minutes ago from your perspective, a couple of hours ago for me. What you're seeing and speaking to right now is an after image, some spark of my magic caught in the web of black magic."

"No." The denial slipped out before his conscious mind had even comprehended Stephen's words. "That's not gonna happen. Tell me what I have to do. You're not dying on my watch, Strange."

Stephen's eyes were kind and sad at the same time. "I already did."

_ No. Nonononono. Don't do that to me, you stubborn asshole of a wizard. _ "Please, Stephen, there must be a way. If you were truly dead I wouldn't speak to you right now. And don't come at me with some weird dimensional time difference crap. Even in Star Trek, they could always sort it out and my tech is at least as good as theirs." He was begging by the time he was finished and still trying to get his hands on Stephen's body. "You're not dead," he insisted. "And even if you were - you said only a few minutes. I can bring you back. I just have to get through this weird stuff first. You'll get the best care and you'll be okay. Just tell me how I can get to you. Please, you can't leave me."

Stephen's eyes widened at that as if resuscitation hadn't occurred to him so far and he didn't seem to have heard the last of Tony's words. Good. He'd just, at the very last moment, swallowed down the 'sweetheart' he'd wanted to tack on. Where the fuck had that come from?

"Stephen?" he repeated slowly when no reaction came. "Tell how to get to you."

Another long pause while Stephen was visibly struggling with an answer. "You'd have to follow me in here," he finally said. "Get into the same timeframe I was when I was still alive. Or not dead for long anyway. But…" he stopped again.

"But what?"

"Even if you do that - my body's pretty damaged." He once again gestured to the smoke impaling him. "This, only real. I was pinned down by wreckage from a collapsing support beam. The fog found its way into me through the wounds and this is the result."

Fuck. Tony once again mustered Stephen, taking note where he was hurt. "You bled to death?" he finally guessed and had to fight against the urge to throw up at his own words.

A slow nod and a soft, "it wasn't that bad. I've had worse."

Fuck. No time to think about Stephen's words or let them break his heart. But he would come back to them as soon as Stephen was out of the woods. "Okay, I can free you and seal the wounds with nanotech. It kept me together after Thanos mistook me for a Kebab, it can hold you together until I get you into a hospital."

"You'd still be trapped in another timezone, in another dimension," Stephen reminded him. "Don't do it. It's already too late for me." The said it as if he truly believed that some freaky magic would stop Tony from doing what had to be done. For all his intelligence he was truly an idiot.

Tony snorted and once again tried to reach Stephen. "You're still talking and annoying me so it's not too late. Now, tell me how I can get to you so that I can get my hands on your body."

Near silent laughter. "That's what you want? Your hands on my body? You should have told me sooner, really." Stephen, the bastard, dared to bat his eyelashes at him and Tony would have hit him, if possible. He could feel the blush on his face and no doubt Stephen could see it. Trust the idiot to level up their rather harmless, exploratory, flirting under circumstances like this.

"You'll get your fill as soon as you tell me _ how_," he growled, not really willing to engage in the weird combination of banter and flirting they'd indulged in over the last few weeks right now. "I _ will _ save you, and no, you don't have any say in the matter."

"Bossy," Stephen commented but he seemed resigned.

"Damn right. You can't be trusted with your own safety so I'm going to take the responsibility from you now and take care of it myself. What do I do? We're losing precious time here, Stephen."

In answer, Stephen vaguely gestured somewhere to Tony's right. "Over there is the broken support beam. You'll find my cor… _ me _ buried beneath it. If you touch me you'll be pulled into my timestream. I think. Things are weird here. I can't tell you if I'll still be alive or not but even if I am you won't have much time."

Tony refused to dwell on that thought. "How do I get us out of there and back home?"

A shrug. "Magic. You'll need me alive, coherent, and strong enough to form a portal. It's insanity, Tony. Don't do it." If he was trying to dissuade Tony he was doing a piss-poor job of it. It gave Tony hope that Stephen actually wanted to be saved and he clung to that vague hope with all his strength.

_ It's over for me, don't kill yourself on my account_, Tony heard and rather than angry the words made him sad and scared. Stephen didn't take enough care of himself, tended to endanger himself needlessly, and Tony had suspected for a while now that he didn't really care if he lived or died. Their interaction now just cemented that belief.

_ I'm not going to let you go without a fight_, he vowed. His friendly feelings had been changing and evolving for a while now but seeing Stephen like this - helpless, vulnerable, hurt - evoked such a need to protect that it drove all other considerations away.

"I'll be with you in a moment," he promised. He once again tried to reach Stephen. "Hold on."

"I'll try to," Stephen promised tiredly, giving in to the inevitable, and really, Tony couldn't ask for more.

_ Hold on for me, baby. _

He hated the fact that he had to leave him behind but in the end he took one last look at Stephen and turned around to go in search of the version of Stephen he could still help.

Tony found him just where he was told he would - a broken doll amidst a sea of rubble. Finally, there was the blood he'd been missing on the mirage Stephen, and he almost threw up when his brain finally connected the random images and presented him with the full picture.

Stephen was on his back, his head turned to the right and his still open eyes seemed to look right into Tony's soul. His right arm was hidden beneath half a collapsed wall and the wooden beam that had pierced his abdomen still glistened with his blood.

The missing cloak was protectively curled around him and barely waved at Tony; it's desolation clear as day.

"Stephen," he whispered and fell to his knees beside him. "I'm so sorry." After a few moments of trying to breathe against the tears he reached out to close those beautiful eyes forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it... for now. The next chapter (which is almost double the length of this one) will go up on the 25th of October and the last one on the 30th.
> 
> Find me on my [blog](https://amethyst-noir.tumblr.com), if you want to yell at me for the Cliffhanger. Kudos and Comments are love and will cherish each and every one of them like the treasures they are. 🎃


	2. Chapter 2

_ If you touch me you'll be pulled into my timestream. _

It was weird to look into Stephen's empty eyes and hear an echo of his voice in his head. He let his hand hover over Stephen for a moment, scared to actually touch him and make it even more real. The possibility of failure was so great… _ Do it _, he ordered himself. He reached down to touch Stephen's face… only to feel warm air hit his hand and Stephen's breath hit it.

"Stephen?"

Those beautiful eyes, suddenly full of life again, focused on him. "Tony? What are you…" A cough left him struggling to breathe and there wasn't enough air left to speak. Tony shushed Stephen by putting his fingers over his mouth.

"Shh, calm down. I'm here to save you. Don't speak, let me assess the damage and patch you up."

The Cloak, at least, perked up at that and signaled its support for that plan.

"Tony."

"Shh." Tony gave in to temptation and let his hand linger for a moment longer. "This is the big one, right? The one that made you bleed out?"

"Tony?" Great, now he'd managed to confuse the poor guy.

"Later, Stephen. First I have to patch you up." A careful blast with his repulsor pulverized the outside part of the beam that pinned Stephen like a butterfly. He didn't dare to go deeper than the surface, even though the blast was configured for wood only. "I'm going to seal the wound now, to stop you from bleeding out, then I'm going to free your arm and then I'm going to get that awful thing out of you. Then… no, we'll come to that later. It's going to be cold, don't be scared."

Stephen gave him a disgusted look at that but he didn't say a word. A bad sign if Tony had ever seen one. He stayed uncharacteristically silent when Tony sealed the wound with nano-particles and only flinched and gasped a little bit in pain when Tony carefully probed it with his fingers to see if it held tight.

The rubble that pinned Stephen's right side down was taken care of with some vicious kicks and another round of repulsor blasts. Thankfully, his arm didn't seem to be too damaged, because Stephen managed to move it and gingerly probe at the nano-particles himself. Tony, who had long since noticed that Stephen tended to favor his right hand if possible, let him but watched with badly hidden concern.

"No broken bones," Stephen assured him when he saw Tony's watchful stare. "Trust me, I'd know it even if I wasn't a doctor." He was still struggling for air but his need to talk was even greater. Typical.

"Experience," Tony guessed and got a nod in return.

"Deep bruises and broken bones happened a couple of times when I was younger," Stephen said absently, still poking his side. "I've learned to tell the difference even before I became a doctor. I've gotten much more experience over the last few years. Also, the nerve-damage keeps me from feeling too much pain when I'm injured." Tony gently grabbed his wrist and held it down to stop him from doing further damage. He carefully memorized the words since they were everything but reassuring but now was not the time to ask more questions.

Now was the time to save one stubborn wizard's life.

"We still have to get the rest of this second-hand stake out of you," he murmured, already planning and searching for the best way to do that. He'd lost his link to FRIDAY the moment he'd set foot into the warehouse - an alarm bell he'd ignored out of pure concern for Stephen - so he had to do it the old-fashioned way.

"You're from the future," Stephen whispered after a few minutes. "My own, personal future. You said 'made you bleed out'. So I died."

"Shh. Let me think."

"You saw my corpse. Right here, just like this."

"Not like this!" Tony snapped back. "Your arm was still buried beneath all that crap and you were still looking like a victim of Vlad the Impaler. The future's already changed and it will change further with you surviving. And now shut up and let me take care of you. Otherwise, none of us will ever make it home again and I don't intend to stay trapped here with only your corpse as company."

_ Let me take care of you. _ Not _ Let me save you _. No, that was only step one. What Tony longed to do was more long-term.

"You found my body," Stephen repeated dully. "This is how it ends. I must say I didn't expect that. I thought that… somehow…" If there hadn't already been tears of pain Tony was sure Stephen would have started to cry right about now. He closed his eyes and turned his head away as if to hide from Tony.

Fuck. Fuck. _ Fuck. _ "Hey, not dead yet." Tony made a conscious effort to make his voice more soothing, adopting the same tone he'd used on Peter a few times. He even dared to reach out and touch Stephen's face but didn't try to move his head. "You're already doing better than that other you. You have me. You'll get through this." Stephen moved his head into the contact out of his own volition but his eyes stayed closed. He was still crying silently.

"It hurts," he finally confessed in a breathless whisper. "Everything hurts all the time and I'm just so damn tired."

Tony swallowed down tears once again. "I know, sweetheart." This time he didn't even try to suppress the endearment. "But it's not time to rest yet." He moved lower to check on Stephen's pulse. Weak, but steady. "I have a great place where you can recover. I went there after the arc reactor surgery and when Pepper was recovering from Extremis, after Ultron, and later after Rhodey got hurt I took him there…" He broke off, unwilling to discuss the still painful subject. "It's equipped to deal with recovery from serious injuries far away from civilization and nosy people."

"Sounds wonderful," Stephen confessed. "Kamar-Taj was something like that for me after I destroyed my hands."

Tony didn't like that choice of words, really. "Do you want to go there instead? I'll get you there. Or you could use your freaky portals. Whatever."

A soft sigh. "If you get me out of here you can take me wherever you want. I just want to sleep."

Was that depression or blood loss talking? Probably both, Tony realized to his continually growing horror. "After _ you _ get us home," he corrected as gently as possible. "You need to make the portal, I can do the rest."

"Ah." Nothing more but it was clear that Stephen understood.

"Yeah. You see? Us getting home depends on you being able to make a portal. Now, keep your eyes closed, take a deep breath and scream as much as you want to. I have to move you to your side so that I can get the rest of the beam out of you and seal the entry wound. I'm going to move you to your left side. After that you'll have all the time in this dimension to catch your breath and recover your strength before you portal us home." _ Where I will not let you out of my sight. _ There, a nice, simple plan. "Ready?"

He wasn't and Stephen wasn't either. But it had to be done.

"Take a deep breath, Stephen."

Stephen didn't move and he didn't snark back. Bad signs and Tony's unease grew once again.

"Can you help me?" he asked the Cloak.

In answer, the thing moved out from Stephen and got into position to catch and hold him as soon as Tony rolled him to his side.

"Good Cloak," Tony murmured.

"The best," Stephen whispered. His whisper grew into a hoarse cry as soon as Tony carefully moved him. Tony didn't even take a second to acknowledge it and trusted the Cloak to keep Stephen stable. Instead, he concentrated on grabbing the piece of wood and pulled it out as carefully as possible. He tossed it to the side and sealed the wound. The nanites would travel deep into Stephen's body, searching out torn blood vessels and sealing them. It was a stop-gap, but better than any other currently on the market. The doctors in the Compound would have a field day with the surgery required to repair the internal damage Stephen had undoubtedly suffered.

"Here," he said after a few agonizing minutes full of labored breathing and pained whimpers. He absently pushed all the debris away while the Cloak once again did what it did best - it bundled Stephen up tightly and gently lowered him into Tony's waiting arms. Stephen never lost consciousness - his pain tolerance must be through the roof. Tony didn't even want to imagine what he must have had endured to get it there.

"Tony?" he asked yet another few minutes later, long after Tony had arranged him as comfortable as possible and held him still with an arm across his chest, well above his wound. "Why am I in your arms?"

"Because I'm not letting you lie on that filthy floor," _ in your own blood_, "and because it's better to lean against me than be on the hard ground with a gaping wound on your back. I need you not only alive but functioning to bring us back home, remember?" _ And because I want to hold you. _

In answer, Stephen raised his right hand - much more shaking than usual - and stared at it for a long time.

"Then you'll have to hold me for a while, I fear. My magic doesn't want to cooperate." He sounded tired and resigned. "I'm just so tired," he continued, echoing Tony's thought.

He couldn't resist asking. "Because everything hurts?"

"Has been hurting for so long." Stephen relaxed enough to put his head back and onto Tony's shoulder. "This is nice." He closed his eyes again but Tony knew that he wasn't asleep, just resting.

Fuck, the poor guy was completely out of it. Still, as much as Tony would have liked to just hold him and let him recover his strength - the risk of Stephen just slipping away was just too great.

So Tony did what he did best - talk. "Aren't you even a little bit curious how I got to you?" he asked, shifting them around into a more comfortable position. The pressure on his chest was just about killing him but there was no way he was letting go of Stephen. His eyes fell to the bloody bit of wood lying on the floor and he'd raised his hand and pulverized it before the memory of Stephen being impaled by it could fully form again.

"You touched my corpse." Stephen had watched the display with barely a flinch but he moved his left hand to cover the sealed wound. After a moment of consideration, Tony put his own atop of it. The slight trembling under his fingertips did wonders to soothe his rattled nerves. "It's obvious," Stephen elaborated when Tony didn't answer.

Thank God the guy liked to talk. Tony smiled to himself and kept his mouth shut.

"You came in here after someone - probably Peter, let's be real, nobody else would have looked for me," Tony winced at that, "told you that I waded into the," the unpronounceable word once again, "and you and your savior complex decided to follow."

_ That _ Tony couldn't let stand uncommented. "Somebody has to have your back," he said softly and gently squeezed the fragile wrist he was holding. "You tend to leave yourself wide open to attack."

Stephen moved his head so that he could look into Tony's face. There was exhaustion and pain, yes, but the fierce intelligence Tony had found attractive since the moment they'd first met was still as sharp as ever, along with his damn stubbornness. "I knew what I was doing, Tony." Intelligence, stubbornness, selflessness and so many other good qualities - all housed in a very pretty package and so damn broken that it sometimes hurt to look at him.

"You knew that you were walking into your death." It wasn't a question.

A small shrug, followed by a wince and hiss of pain. "It was a possibility. But the breach between the dimensions had to be sealed and I was the only one around who could do that. For that, I had to be at the epicenter. Unfortunately, the blast of magic destroyed the weakened support structure of the warehouse and well…" He gestured at his body. "… that happened."

Tony looked into the direction he'd met the afterlife version of Stephen and grimaced. "You didn't do that, actually. Seal the breach, I mean. Instead, the black fog latched onto you, killed you, took your magic and used you as some kind of battery to power itself."

Stephen's eyes widened as he considered the possibility. "How do you know that?"

Now it was Tony's turn to shiver. "Because I met some ghostly afterimage of you who told me. He also told me where to find you and that you and your damned portals are the only things that can bring us back home."

"And you still came? Wong and the other Masters could have sealed the breach. Eventually." Another pained gasp. "The warehouse is beyond saving anyway."

_ Oh, Stephen. _ Saying the same stupid shit as his ghostly future self. With his left hand still over Stephen's wound, he used his right to gently touch Stephen's face. "But you aren't. Of course I came. I'm here, am I?"

"Despite the thing you hate the most being the only thing that can bring you home?"

"I don't hate you, Stephen, I had hoped to make that clear over the last few months." He misinterpreted the words deliberately, in an effort to show Stephen how important he was. Generally, and to Tony in particular.

"You should," Stephen whispered but the way he moved into Tony's gentle touch was its own tell and it broke Tony's heart. "I fucked up so often it's a wonder I'm still here."

"Not for lack of trying," Tony commented. Tired and hurt and in one way or another was pretty much the only state he knew Stephen in. "Are you still trying to do some stupid, useless penance for Titan?"

"Among other things."

"Tell me about them?" He wanted to know, get behind the myriad of walls Stephen had erected between himself and the world.

But Stephen shook his head. "Maybe another time." Which meant no. "Let's just say that my sins may very well outweigh my good deeds at the end of my days."

There were so many things to say to that. Instead of all the obvious ones Tony choose the truth. "Yeah, I know that feeling well. I might fly but my soul is no feather."

"I thought you might." Stephen sighed, tried to sit up but surrendered immediately when Tony held on to him. "I have to try to get us out of here and figure out a way to seal the breach. Now that you've told me that my original plan hasn't worked I have to consult with Wong and…"

Tony wanted to interrupt and tell him that surgery was the only thing he was going into as soon as they were back where they belonged but he held himself back. First thing’s first and getting home was the bigger worry, as much as he hated to admit it.

"First bring us back home," he interrupted the ever-growing list. "Then we'll worry about everything else."

"We?"

"If you think that I'm letting you out of my sight until the moment you're going under for surgery you're way more stupid than I previously thought."

"Surgery?" There was a hitch in Stephen's voice Tony didn't like. At all.

He gently tapped the back of Stephen's left hand, still in the same position on top of his injury. "This stuff only seals the wound, it does nothing else. When I got stabbed on Titan it was Nebula who patched me up with some space medicine. I refined the nano-particles since then but they're still not much more than a highly sophisticated band-aid. I promised you the best of care and you'll get it - but it's going to include a hospital, I fear."

"I hate hospitals," Stephen murmured and held up his right hand. "I went under so many times after my crash that they are a regular feature in my nightmares. A former surgeon, afraid of surgery. What an idiot I am."

Tony gently caught the hand and put it down on Stephen's thigh. "Not an idiot." He hesitated. "Traumatized is the better word, I think."

"And on what do you base this observation, Doctor Stark?" There it was, the sarcasm that had been missing for far too long. But no denial, Tony noted without much surprise.

"I have a few of those lying around," Tony answered carelessly. "Doctorates, I mean. But it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out, Doctor Strange, but I happen to be one. Also, I know how it feels when you think all the evil in the world is one's fault."

"And what if it is?"

"Then you would be called Thanos. Stop it, Stephen, please. You're the only one who blames you for what happened on Titan."

Stephen didn't have to say anything to that but his unimpressed face told its own story. Tony closed his eyes in frustration. "How much longer until your magic battery is recharged and you can bring us home again? As nice as this heart-to-heart is, I'd like to get you out of here."

"Don't like having me in your arms? I'm hurt, Tony, really." The way Stephen cuddled up to him and Tony held on to him belied both their words and they knew it. But still… considering everything Stephen had let slip since the beginning of this nightmare Tony felt the need to set the record straight.

"I'd be up to a repeat-performance as soon as my hands are not needed to keep you together." He gently squeezed Stephen's left hand. "I like touching you, in case you hadn't noticed. And somehow, I think that you like it, too." Maybe later, after Stephen had recovered, he could take him out for dinner or something. Just to talk without life, death and the fate of the whole world hanging in the balance. He wanted to get to know the Strange enigma better.

Tony wanted to hold him again, actually. That wasn't a new feeling but the intensity of it was.

"That sounds… surprisingly nice, actually." Stephen fell silent again. "I'm going to slip into a light trance, to try to reconnect with my magic," he said after a couple of minutes and was out like a light a second later. There was a slight smile on his face.

"Thanks for the warning," Tony muttered and made sure that he still held Stephen securely. "Come back soon." He gave up trying to resist temptation and leaned forward until he could lean the side of his face against Stephen's, almost sharing the air they breathed.

* * *

Tony, for all his intelligence, was still so unbelievably naïve. No, Stephen corrected himself after a moment, just trusting and inexperienced in the ways of magic. There was no way he would get Stephen out of here and into hospital - if, by some miracle or three, Stephen even managed to open up a portal back into their home dimension it would deplete him completely. Of magic, of energy, of _ life _ itself.

He could only hope to scrape together enough of his fading reserves to create a portal stable enough for Tony to be willing to walk through and keep it going until the man was on the other side.

Tony wouldn't consent to leave him behind, that was painfully clear by now, so it had to stay open for long enough for Tony to be able to pick him up because there was no way he was going to stand on his own two feet, let alone walk. But, if he tied the portal to his magic, feeding it with the very last of his essence it should stay open until his body had been carried through…

Stephen smiled. Yes, this would work. He could bring Tony home and Tony, in turn, would bring his body home. He'd be taken care of according to age-old tradition because he trusted Tony to contact Wong immediately. It was a better end then he'd seen for himself, actually. Perfect.

He wouldn't go out alone and cold, there would be companionship and warmth, maybe even something akin to affection. _ What if… _ he wondered idly and without any trace of bitterness.

Getting to know Tony better, maybe even building an actual friendship with him… once Stephen had dreamed of those things and even more. He'd glimpsed the potential in visions of alternate timelines where things had just happened a little bit differently. He wasn't an inhabitant of one of the lucky timelines, he'd realized a long time ago. But this? This was so much better than he'd ever expected or deserved.

He slowly let his mind drift toward consciousness again. Tony still held him, that was the first thing he felt, and the Cloak was still wrapped tightly around him. Something was touching his face. Something soft and rough at the same time… oh, their faces were touching. He could feel Tony's breath on his skin and shivered a little bit. That was unexpected.

Something must have betrayed his waking up because there was a soft, "welcome back. Feeling better?" Tony still hadn't moved and they were close enough to kiss if even one of them only turned their head a little bit.

He felt like hell, actually. He could tell that Tony's nanites had temporarily stopped the bleeding but that he was still getting weaker. Not much time left.

"Yes," he answered and attempted a smile. It felt like a grimace. "I'm going to try to open a portal."

"Stephen," Tony interrupted with unusual gentleness. "Are you sure? I don't want to crush your ego or something but you look like shit. I always thought that you were pale but now you're reached new lows no human should ever go to. _ Loki _ had more color than you."

_ I feel like shit. _ "Wow, you really need to work on your pick-up lines. It's no wonder you're alone if that's what you come up with." He wanted to take the words back as soon as he'd said them. He knew how much Tony was still hurting over the final break up with Pepper. But Tony didn't even seem to have heard them. Stephen tried and failed to tell himself that it was because Tony was so worried about _ him_.

"Right back at you, Doctor Grouchy. Anybody ever told you that you're shit at this?"

Stephen grinned. "All the time. I've been a permanent single since forever. Apparently, I'm good in bed but awful to be with." He'd meant it to be flippant but he way Tony suddenly tensed and held on to even more tightly told him that he'd misjudged.

"Stephen." Gentle fingers turned his head until he could look directly into Tony's enormous eyes. Up close they were even prettier, Stephen had to admit. Eyelashes every woman would kill for. Fuck, were those _ tears _? For him? "I'm sorry."

Sorry? "What the fuck for?"

"This."

The kiss was gentle, barely a press of soft lips against his dry and cracked ones, but it shook Stephen to the core. Oh. _ Oh. _

He'd miscalculated. Rather spectacularly, it seemed.

He responded by instinct and relaxed into the kiss, surrendering all control to Tony. He couldn't suppress a soft moan and the way his right hand searched for and found Tony's. He was dying little by little but this was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. A taste of heaven to take with him into hell.

The kiss ended and Tony lightly and playfully bit his lip before he withdrew. "I've wanted to do that for ages now," he confessed. "Although I'd hoped for better circumstances…"

They both eyed their surroundings. "We have shit timing." Stephen laughed, trying to keep still and not kill himself even faster. "Always have, since the moment we first met." His laugh died and the sudden bloom of happiness in him with it. He had to get Tony out of here and back home. He hadn't counted on breaking his heart along with it but the universe had a bad habit of extracting a heavy price for every single second of happiness he managed to pry from it and Tony's track record in that regard wasn't much better.

"Help me sit up." Something in his voice must have changed because Tony reacted immediately and straightened them up. He wordlessly supported Stephen's right wrist when he held it out. After a moment, and way too much energy and concentration expended, a tiny turquoise butterfly was sitting on the palm of his hands.

"Pretty," Tony commented just as the Cloak tightened around Stephen in warning. It knew, Stephen realized. Fuck. _ Just play along, old friend. Please. It's for the best. _ "Just like you, Stephen." Another kiss, this time to the pulse point at his neck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Tony was all in and committed to him after one kiss and in about five minutes. _ Don't do this to me, Tony. You weren't supposed to get attached to me like this. You were supposed to… _

"Bring us home, please. You're getting weaker and I want to get you out of here so that I can bomb this place into oblivion."

That would get rid of the breach, actually. Hopefully. A better plan then he'd had managed to come up with so far.

"It's going to be a rough ride," he warned and coughed immediately afterwards. He could taste blood. Time to go.

"I don't care. Just do your magic thing, I'll do the rest. I'll take good care of you Stephen, promise. Whatever you need. I'm your man."

"Tony," he started, unsure what to say. "I love you," he finally blurted out while he was already busy conjuring the portal. It would be his last chance to say it, after all. He stubbornly held his eyes open, not even allowing himself to blink the tears away or look at Tony one last time. He wanted to keep the image of those big, beautiful eyes shining with happiness not the horrified realization as his last memory of Tony. "I'm sorry."

The portal flared into existence just as his life started to flicker out. Tony's arms around him were the last thing he felt, a choked and desperate "Stephen?" the last thing he heard.

_ Sorry. I wish… _

* * *

No matter how long he might live - the memory of Stephen's eyes rolling back and him collapsing into Tony's arms like a ragdoll would haunt him for the rest of his days, he just knew it.

"Don't do that to me, Stephen. Baby. Hold on, you fucking stubborn wizard. Please, just a little bit more."

The portal looked unstable and dangerous as hell but the way Stephen had collapsed a nanosecond after its creation induced such a panic that Tony barely spared a thought at what might go wrong. Later, he'd revisit it in his nightmares.

But first, he had to get out of the living nightmare he was trapped in right now. Stephen was unconscious, very probably dying in his arms. Their dimension-hopping or whatever had shorted out most of his suit, including propulsion, so running was the only thing left. The Cloak was busy stabilizing Stephen as best as it could.

His headlong flight came to an abrupt standstill when he came to the place he'd met the ghostly Stephen. He - it - was still there, although fading. There was a look of such pain and sorrow on the mirage's face that it stopped Tony in his tracks. He automatically adjusted Stephen's slender body in his arms and stared.

"You knew," he accused the apparition.

It shrugged. "You got him out before the," the word again, "could take his energy. That's the important part."

"You knew you would die," Tony repeated dully. Everything in him screamed to continue, to run, to do everything to save Stephen. But he couldn't let his ghost, soul, whatever behind. Stephen had been alone for far too long, Tony had realized. Never again.

"I was always afraid that I would die alone." A sad smile as the ghost faded away into nothing as the timeline resettled around the latest disturbance. "Thank you."

The echo of a whispered _ I love you _ and Tony was alone with his precious burden.

"Fuck!" He was crying and barely able to see by the time he stumbled outside.

"Mr. Stark! Tony! Did you find him? Is Doctor Strange okay?"

As always, Peter's mouth worked much faster than his brain and by the time it caught up he clapped his hands in front of his mouth.

"Stephen?" he asked in a small voice just as Steve and Nat jogged up from wherever they had been and just stared.

Tony gently laid Stephen down and put a hand on his chest, the other on his neck. Nothing, just as expected. He closed his eyes and let the tears fall.

"Get everyone out of here because I'm going to bomb this place back into the stone age." He spoke softly but his words carried in the unnatural stillness that had settled over the whole scene. "Afterwards, get some sorcerers here to confirm that the breach between dimensions is gone. They'll know what to look for. Call Wong and tell him to portal into the compound. I need his expertise."

Nat was already busy giving orders and Steve was starting to round all the personnel up. Only Peter saw it when Tony leaned towards and gently kissed first Stephen's forehead and then his lips. "I'm going to take care of you now, sweetheart."

There was the small, blue butterfly and it settled down on Stephen's shoulder. It must have followed them through the portal. Tony just stared at it for a long time before he picked Stephen up again and barely spared a glance at Peter who uncertainly and silently trailed after them when he carried Stephen to the waiting Quinjet with the help of the Cloak.

He carefully laid him out on his back and the Cloak settled over the body of its master with an air of reverence that was disturbing.

"What now?" Peter asked later but Tony ignored him, too busy staring at Stephen and holding his hand. It was, of course, still with none of the trembling he'd already grown used to in the short time he had been allowed to hold it before. "Tony?"

"Hoping," he finally said and tenderly brushed a strand of hair out of Stephen's face. Stephen had left him with his eyes closed so Tony could pretend that he was just sleeping. "Hoping," he repeated, "and praying that the thing I found in an old SHIELD archive works." He hummed a few notes. "_On a highway of hope_," he whispered.

"What's that?" Peter asked.

Tony didn't answer for a while. "A line from a song," he finally said. "_Tahiti_." He took a deep breath. _ This better work. _ Or he would find Fury wherever the guy might hide these days and kill him for giving him false hope.

Peter came to him as if to seek out comfort but in the end it was him holding on to Tony to try to keep him together as he broke down into a sobbing mess.

He watched in helpless silence as the little butterfly faded away to nothing, leaving him alone without even that last remnant of Stephen's magic to keep him company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Tony recites a passage from is _Tahiti_ by Bat For Lashes. I don't think that I have to explain what T.A.H.I.T.I. is, right? If you don't know it I recommend to watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Rest assured that Tony modified the process a lot to spare Stephen a lot of the trauma Phil Coulson had to go through. Poor wizard is already traumatized enough.
> 
> Third and final part in five days, on the 30th of October! Thank you for reading. 💞


	3. Chapter 3

Stephen hated coming back to life from certain death.

By now he had more than enough experience to recognize the signs. The pain in his hands and wrists, his brain trying to explode inside his skull, the dull pain in his chest where his heart had been restarted, the deep ache in his soul at still not having found peace in oblivion.

He didn't even bother with trying to open his eyes since he already knew what he would see - yet another hospital room, machinery, and loneliness until some nurse came in to check on him.

The left side of his face hurt in phantom pain as it always did when he was tired and depleted. He was lucky that his eye could be saved after the car crash, and that his face hadn't been disfigured, but it had been a near thing. Christine had told him once that one could feel the spot where his cheekbone had been broken. Stephen had tried to feel it for himself but his damaged fingers weren't sensitive enough anymore.

"Stephen? You awake?"

He wasn't alone. That was the first thing he noticed, even before he recognized the voice. Tony. Tony was with him.

"Hey, no more hiding. Show me those gorgeous eyes of yours. You've been asleep long enough." A gentle touch on his face - exactly on the spot Christine had shown him. "Please, Stephen. Come back. Tell me you're still with me." Slow stroking and there was such warmth and fear in Tony's voice…

Opening his eyes was harder than ever before. He already winced in anticipation of being blinded but to his surprise, the lights were low enough to barely hurt. Instead of a blanket, the Cloak rested on top of him, he could feel the difference.

The first thing he saw was Tony's radiant smile, tinged with sadness and tears. "Hey, welcome back. It's been a while."

"How long?" he tried to ask but no words came out. Tony still seemed to understand him.

"Too long." His displeasure at the non-answer must have been clear because Tony looked down for a moment and took a deep breath. "Two months. You've been… asleep for two months. After we got you back you crashed again and died during surgery, that is. Took them a while to get you back for real."

Oh. He appreciated the infodump, he really did. Much better than trying to figure things out piece by piece. Instinctively, he reached out to touch the wound with his left hand. Tony watched like a hawk but let him.

"It's almost healed by now. In the end, this was the lesser problem but still a big one. I'll tell you about the other thing later. Hell, I'll just show you. It's going to blow your mind." Tony's voice was still soft but Stephen could hear the terror and sorrow beneath the calm. "But it seems that you're no stranger to heavy invasive surgery." Tony's hand was still on his face, stroking the part that had almost been smashed in the crash.

Tony had seen his scars. Or maybe read his files. Stephen found to his great surprise that he didn't care.

"I said that I had tons of surgery." This time his voice worked. "Most, but not all, was on my hands. I fucked myself up pretty badly."

Another sad smile. "Yeah. I know how it goes. I'm glad you're back."

"The breach?"

"Sealed, by weapons and magic both. Wong made sure of it. It's done, everything is calm, Wong is doing a great job in your name and it's time to heal now."

Tony didn't mean only his body, Stephen knew. He sighed. "Tony…" he began but was immediately shushed.

"Not now. Later. Body first, we'll have the inevitable screaming match about your death wish when you're strong enough to pace and shout and maybe throw some magical light show while I shout back at you. Now I just want to be glad that you're back with me." Tony hesitated and Stephen was charmed at the insecurity that overtook him. "Are you okay with that?"

Okay with what? _ That you're back with me. _ He replayed the last few moments and his breath caught as the true meaning of the words became clear.

"With there being an us?" Tony asked at the same time as Stephen's scattered thoughts connected the dots.

Tony had really, truly committed to him after one kiss that had happened under terrible circumstances and had been more despairing than anything else. Only now, when he wanted to actually use his right hand to touch his own lips in remembrance of the kiss, he realized that Tony had been holding on to that one ever since he'd woken up. Probably for longer. He looked at his useless hand, laying elevated on a pillow - Tony had definitely read up on him and his medical problems to know that elevation helped with the swelling and the pain sometimes - with Tony's right hand right atop of it, fingers loosely curled around his wrist.

Tony followed his gaze and blushed a little bit. It was adorable, Stephen decided. "I wanted to hold you so badly and this was the next best thing," he explained.

"You really like having me in your arms." Stephen still looked at their hands, trying to wrap his mind around too many things all at once. Tony was a protector, he'd always known that, but to have the full scope of all that protectiveness aimed at him - Stephen was forced to admit that he'd rather liked it, actually. He shouldn't, but he did.

Tony shrugged. "I do. The secret is out. I like to cuddle. Somehow, I don't think that you mind."

"You're very sure of yourself, are you?" Stephen couldn't resist a little bit of light teasing, just to test the waters.

He was unprepared for the full force of Tony's response.

"I love you, you self-destructive idiot with a martyr-complex!" While not quite a shout it wasn't far off and Stephen flinched at the sudden explosion of sound. Tony still held on to his hand but his grip tightened to an almost painful degree. Almost. He gently but firmly forced Stephen's head to the right and crouched down beside the bed until they were eye to eye. "You _ died _ in my arms back there, do you realize that? I had to carry your body through an unstable magic portal, through a collapsing building swimming with Hell knows what energies, and I had to watch your fucking _ ghost _ fade away after thanking me for not letting you die alone!

“Then I had to wait and hope that you could be brought back, only to have you crash - twice - afterwards. You've died so many times that nobody can believe that you're still breathing, let alone awake and coherent now! You were brought back by a highly experimental process that worked only once before and fucked the patient up royally. They told me the chance of your mind still being intact is less than ten percent - can you even begin to understand how afraid I was? 

“And then you wake up and are your usual, annoying, wonderful asshole self. You're the most beautiful, most stubborn, most infuriating person I've ever had the fortune of meeting and I just want to hold you in my arms for the rest of your life to keep you safe from harm. You got all that, Doctor I-don't-care-if-I-live-or-die-but-actually-I-would prefer-dying?"

By the end of his tirade, they were close together, foreheads pressed against is other and Tony's voice broke before the last few words.

"I love you," he repeated in the softest whisper Stephen had ever heard of him and sat back up. Probably because the pose hurt his back, judging by his pained grimace. Tony must have spent a lot of time here, at Stephen's side, waiting for him to wake up. He truly was an idiot for not having it noticed sooner.

It was too much. Everything Stephen hadn't even known he needed to hear and here it was, freely offered by the man he wanted to hear it most from. He didn't deserve it but it still filled him with warmth and contentment. Love. He hadn't even _ dared _ to think about that word in conjunction with Tony.

"Tony." He didn't even know where to begin. "I'm…"

"A suicidal, hurting wreck?" Tony asked at the same time as Stephen offered "an idiot."

They just looked at each other and Tony was the first to break and look away. Instead, he stared at the hand he was still holding.

It took a while to gather all of his frayed courage and beat the last vestiges of his pride back. "You are the first one to touch them like this, you know. I'm not used to holding hands," he clarified when Tony didn't react. It had taken him a long time before he became comfortable with looking at his hands, even longer before he could force himself to take care of them to keep them as functional as possible. They would degenerate even more over time, he already knew that, but right now they were in the best possible condition. Not beautiful, like before - his hands had been the one thing he really found attractive about himself, once upon a time - but he'd learned to look at them without flinching.

Most of the time.

"You have beautiful hands," Tony said softly, echoing Stephen's thoughts but in a much nicer way.

He didn't even try to hide the bitter smile. "They were, once."

"Elegant," Tony continued as if he hadn't heard Stephen, "Graceful. When you move them to conjure magic - it's beautiful." He carefully traced the scars, one after another. "I can feel the metal," he whispered and finally looked up again. "It must be hell when it's cold."

Stephen shivered, despite the rather pleasant temperature in the room and the Cloak snuggled a little bit closer. He absently petted it with his left hand, letting the soft fabric glide through his fingers. "It is," he confirmed. "They get swollen, they seize up, I get even more clumsy and…" They were everything but beautiful and elegant, really.

"… they hurt even more," Tony finished for him. "Yeah, I know the feeling." He tapped his chest and, seeing Stephen's confusion, let go of the contemplation of his bent fingers and put the shaking hand in the middle of his chest. "No more arc reactor, because there is no more shrapnel that has to be kept away from my heart, but a lot of implants to keep my heart beating and my lungs working." He swallowed hard and Stephen could feel the action. "I barely escaped a heart transplant - which I wouldn't have gotten legally anyway, considering everything - but things aren't that good in there, either."

So many things suddenly made sense. How Tony treated him with gentleness and respect but not pity, how he knew how to offer help without being overbearing… "I didn't know," Stephen confessed. Why hadn't he? He was a damn doctor, after all! "How bad is it?"

"Not many people do. It would be a PR nightmare and I'd like to keep some things private, thank you very much." Tony shrugged and gently lowered Stephen's hand back onto its own, private pillow after kissing the back of it. His own hand stayed atop of it. "Nobody has any idea what'll happen or when. There is so much tech and biotech in me, coupled with some freaky space-age medicine courtesy of Nebula, that it's a wonder that I'm still standing, let alone living a normal life." He hesitated. "The pain isn't that bad, as long as I don't overdo it, but the cold always brings it out more."

He held still when Stephen explored the area with his left hand, trying to get a feel through Tony's shirt. His right hand was still in Tony's grip. Even he could feel the raised scar tissue through the fabric. It must be a nightmare under there, Stephen realized. He wanted nothing more to see and touch, to try to figure out what was going in there and to help make it better.

"I'm sorry."

"What for? Not your fault I got blown up by my own missile. You can look at all the scans and read my files if you want to occupy your mind while you recover. Quid pro quo. Should be interesting for the doctor in you. I'm a pretty unique guy. All in all, I got a rather good deal." He looked down at Stephen's hands again. "Better than you."

"No, not better." Stephen stopped his exploration, not even bothering to try to hide his wince of pain at the movement, and grabbed Tony's wrist in a weak grip. "Just different."

He got a sad smile in return. "Not that different."

No, not really. Tony was just a few steps ahead of him on the road to recovery, it seemed. The exhaustion, that had haunted him since the moment he came to, became overwhelming and he couldn't fight against it any longer.

He tried to find the words to express how sorry he was but was stopped by Tony's fingers on his lips. "Rest now. I shouldn't have dumped all of that on you but I know how you are, so…" He bent down and softly kissed Stephen on the lips. "Sleep. I'll be there when you wake up."

"Get some sleep yourself," he demanded, already half asleep. "You look like hell."

Tony's laughter made him smile and he allowed himself to rest.

* * *

Two days later Tony was busy waiting for Stephen to wake up. He should spend the time working, he knew, but instead, he was less coding and more thinking about Stephen and how they should - and could - go on from where they were right now. Nobody knew if this was it or if some ugly aftereffects of T.A.H.I.T.I. were lurking just around the corner to fuck everything up like it had for Phil. Tony had done his best to modify and improve the horrifying process but in the end theory and simulation could only do so much. Only time would tell and at least they had that now. Time for side effects, time go to spent some time alone, get to know each other better, time to cuddle and kiss. He could take the bad if it brought so many good with it.

Stephen's shyness when he was kissed was endearing, and so were his tiny little moans and the way he blushed when Tony gave him harmless compliments. Tony couldn't wait for him to get better and to discover how he responded to actual kissing with intent and to being touched, caressed and…

_ Later _, he reminded himself before he could get too excited. That was all on the far-off future. First, he had to get the all-clear from Stephen's doctors to whisk him away to the house by the lake for an extended period of physical and mental recovery. He already had Wong's enthusiastic - or what counted as 'enthusiastic' with the guy - consent to take Stephen with him and only bring him back when he was fit to take up his duties again.

_ "Just take him and please, for the sake of all of us, bring him back in better condition. He's an annoying asshole when he's unhappy." _

_ Make him happy and get him to enjoy life again _, had been the implied command and Tony had promised Wong to at least try to do that. He had no idea how he was supposed to perform this miracle but he would. Somehow. Because Stephen deserved it.

The way Wong had looked at Stephen - after he'd finally managed to stay alive for consecutive twenty-four hours and the doctors had given a cautious "maybe he'll survive" - had made it clear that his rather harsh words were just a façade. The poor guy just didn't really know how to show affection and care apart from sarcasm that poorly concealed the concern underneath.

Stephen's other best friend, the flying blanket of death, hadn't left him since the moment he'd been out of surgery for the last time.

"You really care about him, hmm?" Tony asked absently while typing away at his tablet. He looked up in surprise when something soft and red wrapped itself around his wrist in a surprisingly strong grip. "What's up, Red?" It tugged on his arm again and Tony put the tablet aside and got up from his rather comfortable position with a groan. "I swear if this is some sort of prank…"

It wasn't.

Stephen's bodyguard had alerted him because he was getting restless.

"Stephen?" Like so often before over the last few days he put his hand over Stephen's right one. As always it was slightly too cool, thanks to poor blood circulation, and slightly trembling even while Stephen was sleeping. Fucking nerve-damage. He had to look into that as soon as possible. "Wake up, sweetheart." He carefully squeezed Stephen's hand, very conscious that the Cloak was watching him like a hawk. "I'm not going to hurt him," he tried to soothe the red menace. The opposite, really.

"… not hurting me."

As always, it was a special treat to be allowed to see Stephen wake up slowly. His eyes were the most beautiful ones Tony had seen in his life and every time Stephen woke up and sought him out Tony's heart jumped in the good way. When Stephen sluggishly moved his head towards the direction of Tony's voice, opening his eyes just the tiniest bit as if he wanted to make sure that it would be worth to fully wake up, the way he smiled when he caught sight of Tony.

Like now. "Morning," he whispered, his voice raspy and doing things to Tony.

"Evening," he corrected gently and smiled. "You were out for a whole day."

By now Helen, Bruce and their team weren't even sure what needed more rest - Stephen's body or his mind. Recovery would be slow, they'd told Tony and Wong, because Stephen had somehow managed to deplete all his natural reserves. He needed rest, food to regain lost weight, and some gentle exercise to get him back into shape. Tony had seen exactly what magical feats Stephen could perform in peak condition and it was painfully clear that right now he was far away from that.

"Shit."

Tony chuckled at that. "You needed it. I once crashed brutally after four days in my workshop and Rhodey and Pepper both just let me lie on the floor and just tossed a blanket over me. When I crawled up about fourteen hours later I could barely move but the call of nature was louder than anything else."

"That's not a problem right now." Stephen grimaced and Tony shuddered at the unsubtle reminder of the catheter.

"It should come out soon," he tried to soothe the bruised ego. He took a deep breath. "We're still on? For me whisking you away as soon as possible?" he clarified at Stephen's confused look.

The confused look morphed into sheer wonder and Tony already knew that he would hate whatever came out next of Stephen's mouth. He expected a protest, some nonsense that Stephen was needed back in his magical wonderland or whatever but instead, he got his heart broken all over again.

"That offer still stands?" Stephen's voice broke and he looked up at Tony with such a look of wonder and helpless longing that it left Tony speechless. "I thought… I mean… I was dying and you…"

"Shh." Tony wanted to kiss Stephen again to make him stop saying stuff like that. "Of course I meant it. I've been thinking about nothing else, really. I'm just waiting for you to be healed enough to get out of here. Wong has even promised to make us a portal to get there in an instant."

The look of wonder didn't leave Stephen's face. "Wong?"

"Is a good friend who wants you to get better." He took another deep breath. Time to lay the cards on the table then. "Helen and Bruce should be here soon to check you out once again. If everything goes according to plan this," he looked down and gently touched Stephen's thigh, near his pelvis, "should be out within the hour. If you're up to it we can go there immediately afterwards." He smiled and absently caressed Stephen's hip through the Cloak. "Everything's ready and I really want to show it to you. It's beautiful, especially at night. You can see the stars, there's basically no light pollution and it's quiet. We, FRIDAY and your faithful companion here," this time he patted the Cloak itself, "will be the only ones for miles. I would say that there's no escaping from me but that's a lie since you know…" he mimicked the thing Stephen did when conjuring a portal with a slight smile.

"Sounds heavenly," Stephen said quietly, not engaging with his attempt at humor. "I need peace and quiet to meditate. I need to find myself again. I see things more clearly now but I still need to figure some stuff out." He smiled and caught Tony's restlessly wandering hand with his own. "And we'll have time to get to know each other."

"In the biblical sense?" Tony couldn't resist asking, despite the knowledge that nothing of that sort would happen in the near future. It was so good to know that they were thinking along the same lines, actually.

Stephen tugged him down and into a kiss. "That too," he promised with a laugh. "Get me out of here," he demanded.

"Your wish is my command. FRIDAY?"

"Doctors Cho and Banner should arrive within minutes," was the answer. "All the scans look great, you should be good to go, Doctor. I'm looking forward to spending time with you two."

Stephen looked a little bit spooked at the reminder that FRIDAY would see and hear everything he and Tony would speak about or get up to but Tony just nodded towards the Cloak. The Cloak waved back happily.

"Don't tell me that it won't watch our every move and listen to every word we say. It's only fair that I have someone in my corner, too."

Stephen chuckled at that. "Seems fair, yes," he conceded.

They could hear the approaching footsteps and Stephen tightened his hold on Tony's hand. "Stay," he begged.

"Stephen…" The checkup would be highly intrusive and the removal of the catheter…

Stephen just shrugged. "I've lost my dignity years ago after my accident. Besides, it's not as if you're not going to see me naked anyway if you want to. Granted, hopefully in a better state than right now but still…"

He would need help with everything in the first few days anyway. There was no place for shame and a false sense of pride between them.

Tony silenced him with a kiss. "Of course I wanna see you," he assured Stephen. "Clothed, naked, aroused…"

"I'm not a work of art. You can touch me too," Stephen fired back just as the door opened and left Tony to stew on his reply until they were alone again.

"Asshole," he hissed. Stephen just shrugged and smiled first at him and then the two newcomers.

Their hands stayed entwined during the whole time, first with Stephen clinging to Tony during the examination, later with Tony nervously clinging to Stephen when the sorcerer led him through Wong's portal into what would become their new home for the foreseeable future.

* * *

A couple of hours later they were curled up on the biggest couch he'd ever seen, the Cloak was around his shoulders, he had a cup of hot tea within easy reach and he had Tony at his side, an arm around Stephen's waist.

"I love you," Stephen said; the first time he did so since waking up. He hesitated for a moment, still unsure about putting his thoughts and feelings into words. _ Screw it_, he decided. "Thank you for making me want to live."

The way Tony lit up at the simple words made an already perfect night unforgettable. "Stephen," he started but Stephen shook his head. No words. Instead, he raised his hand from its comfortable position on Tony's thigh and, with a quick gesture, conjured a butterfly. Tony had told him how hard it had been to see the little thing fade away so Stephen made sure to imbue this one with enough magic to withstand pretty much everything.

Tony watched it flutter around with such an expression of wonder on his face as if Stephen had done something grandiose for him. It was nice to have Tony of all people appreciate a tiny, harmless example of magic.

If it had been possible Stephen would have fallen even more in love at that very moment.

He once again curled up against Tony and put his hand into the most comfortable position available. The enormous panorama windows gave them a beautiful view as dawn broke. Tony barely waited for the sun to show up over the lake before he turned around to kiss Stephen slowly and deeply, taking all the time in the world to get this right. Stephen put his trembling hands on Tony's waist, relaxed into the kiss, and let Tony explore to his heart's content.

"Thank you for letting me," he said much later with a smile, still caressing Stephen's face and obviously liking the way he responded to the touches with soft moans and tiny shivers of pleasure.

Tony carefully arranged them on the couch and Stephen fell asleep in his arms. Warm, safe, protected and with a smile on his face. Tony followed him soon afterwards.

The butterfly settled itself on one of the edges of the Cloak, basking in the early morning sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you had fun and that the happy fluff at the end made up for the tons of angst I heaped on them before. 🤣 Tony will look out for Stephen now and vice versa.

**Author's Note:**

> And this are prompts that inspired this story:
> 
> _Stephen works with the Avengers occasionally, when the threat is all-hands-on-deck powerful or magic. One time, he gets injured (hit with some sort of spell; TBI etc) and the only person there to help him is Tony. They're trapped in rubble, so Tony has to try and keep Stephen awake and taking. In this AU, they're just friendly acquaintances and Stephen ends up revealing a lot of information (abusive childhood?) that makes Tony simultaneously furious and begin to fall in love._
> 
> _what if an entire building fell on stephen and tony has to dig him out?_
> 
> Don't worry, I didn't include the abusive childhood (or I would have warned for it) because this story wanted to get into another direction. But since those two prompts were the starting point to everything I'm giving them the credit they deserve.


End file.
